Draco
Malfoy Manor
March 1997
There was nothing pleasant about the Malfoy Dungeon, nor the path down to it. It was as dreary, wet, cold and miserable as one's imagination could attempt to conjure up.
Dim torches lined the narrow stairwell down, making it difficult for Draco to see where he was going as he descended.
Reaching the bottom set of stairs, Draco made his footsteps intentionally heavy, not wanting to sneak up unawares on the two people he knew to be having a stolen moment down in his crypts.
Once past the threshold, with what available light he had, Draco could faintly make out Theo Nott leaning against a wall near the bars of the cell, and on the other side was Luna Lovegood.
"Hello Draco," Luna greeted serenely as Theo's head fell with disappointment. Draco noted that on the floor by where they sat the pair's hands were only slightly parted from one another.
"Hello Lovegood," Draco replied cordially then turned to Theo. "Nott I need to speak with you upstairs"
Theo looked discreetly in Luna's direction. She had a warm, unabashed smile that shone through the grimness of the dungeon. Something about Luna Lovegood felt like pure light, Draco thought sadly as he watched her sitting behind bars.
Another moment passed where Theo didn't move. Draco cleared his throat.
Sensing his hesitation, Luna leaned into the bars, moving herself closer the reluctant wizard.
"I'm OK Theo," she said delicately. Their eyes met for a moment before she gave him a resolute nod. He dipped his head, and brought himself to his feet.
Once upstairs, Draco pulled Theo aside into a small sitting room, and locked the doors promptly.
"Theo, I appreciate the situation you're in, but you have to be more careful," Draco spoke cautiously. Theo gave Draco an uncertain look. "Your father is in the manor at present."
Theo scoffed. "He doesn't give two shits about me," Draco held Theo's bitter glare.
"I ran into him as he was about to go into the dungeons," Draco told him. Theo paled. "I had to make up an excuse about my Aunt needing to see him…"
Theo's eyes widened, mind already racing with all the horrid things his father was capable of.
"If he went down there, and…and I wasn't there… he would have done something to her!" Theo stuttered out at a frantic pace. "You saw what he did to those other prisoners from before!"
Draco cast a quick Muffliato on them to ensure no one would overhear.
Theo's pacing cast an anxiety about the room. The man looked crazed as he dragged his fingers through his hair.
"Has he been down there since she arrived?" Theo asked with deadly force. "I know Luna, she wouldn't have wanted to worry me by…
"He hasn't been down their since Lovegood's arrival, and even if he had…" Draco made sure Theo was looking at him. "She's pureblood. He wouldn't spill a drop of her blood, or do anything to her for that matter."
Theo did not look so sure, but his breathing calmed down to a measured pace.
With desperation in his eyes, Theo turned to Draco. "You have to get her out of here."
Draco nodded, but knew he couldn't give Theo the expeditious timeline he would likely want.
"We will, but can't right now," Draco told him calmly. Theo looked like he was going to argue but Draco went on.
"Yaxley and Rowle brought her in on direct orders from the Dark Lord to silence her father. The muggle playbook is thrown out with her, she's the first pureblood that we've taken captive so there is more attention paid to her."
Luna had been at the Manor for three months. She was unceremoniously dragged away from the platform at Hogsmeade on her return from Winter Holiday.
Draco and Theo were no privy to this plan, and both had to temper their surprise when they saw two bulking Death Eaters lead the slight, dreamy looking Luna Lovegood through the Manor Halls. The optimistic Ravenclaw did not give the impression that her life was in danger in the slightest though, and observed her surroundings as if she was being jostled through a rushed tour of the famous Malfoy Manor.
With Lovegood in captivity with the Death Eaters, it not lost on Draco that he was one legilimens away from the secret he harbored being uncovered.
The night of her arrival, Draco had snuck down to the dungeon late to rectify that risk.
"Hello Draco," Luna chirped happily, though kept her voice low. She looked over her shoulder to a heap in the corner. "Mr. Ollivander is sleeping"
Draco knew full well he was sleeping. He had dosed his dinner with sleeping potion as he was one to do in pursuit of a resolution to his problems.
His wand was already half out when when Luna stood to ready herself for a spell.
"I was wondering when you were going to do this," she said, flashing a knowing smile.
His expression narrowed in confusion.
"A memory charm. It's probably for the best. I'm not good at occlumency."
The perception on this witch was jarring, Draco thought as he brought his wand level.
"You do know the risks with memory charms, don't you?" she asked him, his wand hand now faltering. "They work generally well, but if the memories are very strong, it can be very difficult to fully suppress. "
Draco had not heard that before. In fact, that information would have been quite useful to him in the past year. All he could do was hope that the lack of Lovegood's insight did not give way to any issues with what has already been done.
"Don't worry about me though. I think the memories you'll be removing are not that deep. But if you would be so kind to not remove all memories from sixth year, I'd greatly appreciate that." Luna added, looking a bit sheepish.
Draco obliged her request, having had a sense of what she could have wanted to preserve.
"How do you do it?" asked Theo, breaking their present silence. Draco glanced over to his friend to find him keenly distracted by the intricate design of the particularly ancient rug they stood on.
"Do what?" Draco replied, taking a moment to roll his neck, hoping to relieve some tension caused from all the lies and secrets he was keeping under wraps in the proverbial lion's den of the Dark Lord himself.
Theo gave Draco an apprehensive look. "You know."
Draco shook his head, growing frustrated and wishing this conversation was infinitely more straight forward. "Theo please, I need you to speak plainly with me."
"It's just hard to know Luna is in danger," Theo went on, eyeing Draco with a watchful stare. "But at least I can check on her. See that she's OK"
Draco's eyes dropped from Theo's, no longer being confused by what he was angling at.
Even with their improved occulmency, Draco had not confirmed to his friends why he was doing what he was to rebel against the Dark Lord. By then, Pansy and Theo had found their own reasons for insurgency, and Draco's particular motivations did not appear to matter much to them. But, ever since releasing Weasle back into the world, Draco suspected Theo may know something closer to the truth.
"Come on, lets go," Draco cut in abruptly, waving a hand to break the Muffliato charm as he exited the room.
Cool air licked at Draco's skin in the open corridor of the Grand Hallway. He calmed his nerves and let the drop in temperature bring the heat that lashed out against his neck to an equilibrium.
Any thoughts of her threatened to destabilize him. Ninety percent of his waking hours were spent occulding. He compartmentalized any personal fears or wistful memories into carefully sorted categories that he could review with a glass of firewhiskey at the end of each day from the protection of his heavily warded bedroom.
The best nights were when the memories he had stored away were of the past. A flicker of how her eyes looked, all knowing and haughty, when she knew she was right about something. He'd egg her on, of course, just to get the rise out of her. It brought out the perfect shade of pink to her cheeks when he infuriated her, only trumped by the shade of pink her cheeks turned after other illicit activities.
The worst nights were in relieving the deep fears he would need to compartmentalize that she was hurt, or that he couldn't keep her safe.
If anything happened to her, he had already resolved he would attempt killing the Dark Lord himself. His ruse of remaining a Death Eater would serve no purpose if she was gone.
Off to the side of the Grand Hall, Draco spotted his Mother and Pansy sitting together in heavily windowed sitting room, sipping tea, heads together in a hushed conversation.
"Theo go find your father," Draco ordered before walking towards his Mother and Pansy, not waiting for an acknowledgement from Theo.
The two witches saw Draco draw near. Their postures swiftly adjusted to give off the air of two ladies being pleasantly inconspicuous. Not up to anything whatsoever.
"Draco," his mother called out demurely, her voice echoing faintly against the wall to wall windows that enclosed the quaint sitting area. She stood to greet him with a soft kiss to each cheek. He reciprocated.
Pansy stood, but kept her distance from Draco. "Yeah, I won't be greeting you like that. Am I suppose to salute you as my superior? I don't even know anymore."
Draco gave Pansy a tight look before turning back to his mother.
"It seems as if you two have business to discuss?" Draco asked, casting a glance between the two of them. He knew these two witches well, and nothing they did was ever by happenstance.
"Well I'm off," Pansy announced abruptly, patting down her robes as if they were rumpled, even though there wasn't a wrinkle to be seen. "I think I saw Wormtail in the other wing and I'd very much like to ruin his day."
Pansy vacated the sitting room, the click of her heels (which were not approved for Death Eaters on duty, which she was) clunked against the marble floor and echoed against walls until the sounded faded into the background.
Draco refocused his attention on his mother, eying her skeptically.
"I suspect even the Dark Lord is a bit frightened by Pansy," Narciassa commented with a smirk, taking a seat again. Draco followed suit, sitting in an high back tufted arm chair across from Narcissa.
"Mother what are you discussing with Pansy?" he pressed, his body leaning in towards where she sat. "It looks suspicious whatever it is"
Narcissa looked unperturbed and leaned over to the coffee table to pour Draco a cup of tea. "Who would think that I was capable of any scheming?" Narcissa asked with an air of ignorance.
"Anyone with half a brain," Draco responded, taking the saucer from her.
"Then I suppose we should consider ourselves lucky then." Draco couldn't help but crack a smile back.
"Are you doing OK Draco?" his mother asked him, looking over his appearance with a motherly worry.
He set his saucer down and leaned in over his knees. "There is just so much that could go wrong at any moment." Draco said with a sigh, making sure to reveal no specifics. Malfoys never spoke on matters directly.
"You seem to be motivated by something" Narcissa suggested, going on when her son did not seem to refute her statement with his eyes. Her attention lingered back to her tea. "Whatever it is, is that cause still important to you?"
"Yes," he answered without hesitation.
She nodded assuredly towards her son and took a sip of tea. "Then do whatever it takes."
Draco was resolute, but it did not hurt to have encouraging words paid to him by his mother, even if she had no clue what it was she was urging him into.
"How is Father?" Draco asked cautiously, breaking the silence.
Narcissa's expression faltered but quickly steadied.
"He is fine so long as no one disturbs him," she said tepidly.
Lucius' mental health had steadily declined since his return from Azkaban. The wizard who used to be larger than life to Draco could barely move on his own, and was so frail that speaking became a task.
As a son, watching the demise of his father, regardless of the tumultuous past he had with him, was a struggle. But for Narcissa, she watched the love of her life slowly wither away, being reduced to no more than a scared angry man that hardly knew where he was. It was a sick torture.
It was a wonder what love made a person do.
Somewhere in the distance, far-off sounds of shouting built within the Manor walls. It was not uncommon for a yelling match to unfold what with a horde of Death Eaters stumbling through at any given hour, but something about the sounds caused Draco to stand at attention.
Muffled yells transformed in to cackles. It was Bellatrix, and she was gleeful, which was never a good sign.
Narcissa stood now, tuning her ears to the sounds in the distance.
Vaguely, Draco thought he heard 'Potter' and 'we got them!'. His feet carried him in the direction of the screams, with Narcissa following.
"The ginger!" another snippet, this time more clear. Draco's hand began to quake, his nerves awakened.
"And that filthy little mudblood!"
Draco stopped in his tracks.
Bellatrix had Hermione.
A new peel of laughter bounced off the walls. It sounded like it was getting closer.
"Draco, darling! Where are you?" Bellatrix called out, her voice ricocheting against the manor walls from rooms away. "We need you to identify them! Potter looks mangled."
His breathing picked up as his brain raced through his options. This was always a possibility, one that he planned for, but it was by far the worst case scenario he could have fathomed. Next to the Dark Lord, the last person Draco ever wanted Hermione being near was his Aunt Bellatrix.
The frenzy of his heart and mind stilled as he felt someone touch his shoulder He turned, his eyes unfocused, his vision slightly spinning, and saw his mother come into view.
She searched her son's eyes, and when they wouldn't attune to her she gently grabbed his chin and forced his attention.
"Draco," Narcissa said urgently, her gripping at his held his chin.
His body was screaming for action, his feet trying to move out from under her grasp. His eyes felt wild.
"Listen to me!" she spoke again, this time with a fierceness that was foreign to her normally demure tone. He forced himself to occlude enough to focus on his mother and found that her eyes had grown wet. He had never seen his mother this close to tears, and that made him still.
"Draco listen to me. Whatever you have to do, do it," Narcissa told her son firmly, keeping a keen lock on his eyes. Draco's expression narrowed in confusion. "Even if it means you have to leave. We will be OK."
A tear pooled over Narcissa's lid as she blinked, She pinched Draco's chin tightly and spoke again. "Draco do you understand me. Do what you have to do. I support you, whatever you do. For whatever reason you're doing it. We will be fine here."
He felt a tear slip from his eye as well. Slowly, Narcissa pulled him into a hug that felt like a goodbye.
"Draco!" Bellatrix rang out in a sing song fashion, the voice growing closer.
Narcissa and Draco parted, any emotion they had just shown melting away like the first snow of the year that couldn't stick to the too warm ground. Each resumed their typical facade: That of a cold, and uncaring, Malfoy.
Draco was not sure what he was going to do yet, but he was ready to do whatever he had to save her.